During the assembly of wall frames in new construction, the frame members are generally joined while the frame is in a horizontal orientation; then the assembled frames are stood up, anchored, and connected to already standing frame sections. In such a method, it is a relatively simple matter to nail vertical studs to bottom and top plate members; the studs are positioned and nailed through the base and top members into the ends of the studs, since the surfaces of the bottom and top plate members being nailed through are easily accessible in the initial horizontal orientation of the frame section.
During remodeling construction, such as the construction of partition walls in existing rooms and the construction of dry wall support frames on concrete basement walls, the bottom and top plate members must be laid out and attached to existing floors and ceilings. The studs are then positioned and nailed. In such circumstances, the bottom surfaces of the bottom or sole plates and the top surfaces of the top plates are not accessible for nailing through to the ends of the studs. Consequently, the usual practice is to "toe-nail" the stud, that is, to drive nails at an angle through the stud into the bottom or top plate members.
A common problem which occurs during the toe-nailing of studs is that the hammer blows misposition the stud from plumb or vertical orientation. The simplest solution is to use brute force, that is, to hammer the stud into the proper position after nailing. When a stud is being toe-nailed to a sole plate, the problem can be overcome, to some extent, by the carpenter using his foot as an anchor on the opposite side of the stud from the hammered side. Such a solution is seldom practical, however, when toe-nailing the top of a stud to a top plate member. In the case of a stud which is non-standard in length and has been cut slightly short, the engagement of the top of the stud with the top plate is loose. Such a loose fit makes the maintenance of the correct position of a stud difficult even if the gap between the stud top and the top plate is shimmed.
Other than good building practices, a practical reason for the necessity of the studs being plumb, even in non-load-bearing walls, affects the later process of attaching dry wall panels, such as sheetrock, to the studs. In the installation of dry wall panels, the side edges of two adjacent panels normally overlap the side surface of a stud and are nailed thereto. If such a stud is out of plumb by even one degree of angle, the seam between the dry panels will completely b off the stud at one end, thus complicating the nailing of the panels to the stud.
The most precise solution to the problem of laterally shifting the end of a stud during nailing is to tack a block of wood across the face of the top or sole plate flush with the surface of the stud to act as an abutment or anvil during nailing. However, once one side of the stud has been nailed, the block must be removed so the opposite side can be nailed, thus adding to the labor involved.